Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
When The Party Goes Bad
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on January 20, 2013. Isaiah 62:1-5; John 2:1-11 I’m not sure which football coach said it, but he wasn’t enamored of the...
Hope and Help
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky., on January 20, 2013. Isaiah 62:1-5 Once again, our attention is drawn to the words recorded in Isaiah. This time the prophet from...
Great Themes of the Bible: Worship
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on January 20, 2013. Genesis 8:13-22 Morning Prayer: O God, you are the only one worthy of praise from every mouth, the only one worthy of...
A Lesson From a Journey with the Magi
The Judeo-Christian Scriptures invite us into the human struggle for truth. They reflect the journeys and struggles of faith communities. Therefore, we should expect to find in our Scriptures contradictions, paradoxes,...
What Do You Value in Life’s Daily Auction?
It's not every day that an old home with all its contents is sold at auction. Most of the time, family members have made their way through the belongings of the deceased, picking the valuables clean like a cotton...
BWA Delegation Visits Nigeria Following Violence
Baptists in Nigeria expressed thanks for a Baptist World Alliance (BWA) human rights visit to the West African country in December. "Words are inadequate to express our appreciation to you all for putting your lives...
Thank God for cold
What? It's finally gotten cold in our neck of the woods - relatively speaking, of course. After the warmest winter on record in 2012 and several 70 degree days this month, we've finally run into a five or six day...
Skype Interview: Bob and Janice Newell on Immigrants’ Education
Two lasting bequests from parents to children are roots and wings, according to clergyman Henry Ward Beecher. That thought has resonated with Bob and Janice Newell, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel in...
Lent, Ash Wednesday: Why All the Fuss?
Having been raised in a non-liturgical Baptist church, the liturgical worship calendar, with its seasons and emphases, was not only unobserved but also unknown. I remember learning about Hanukkah at some point in my...
Forgiveness Always a Virtue; Forgetting Often a Vice
Lance Armstrong confessed to doping on Oprah Winfrey's TV show. The king of cycling said he had lied for years and used drugs to enhance his performances. Stripped of seven Tour de France titles, asked to return an...
For Global Climate, Just 1 Degree Causes Alarm
Major weather pattern changes should be alarming news to everyone. Anne Thompson, NBC News' chief environmental affairs correspondent, recently reported that our average global temperature has increased by 1 degree...
Reminding Your Leaders to Protect the Vulnerable
How can pastors and other religious leaders address the U.S. national deficit and fiscal policy without resorting to partisan labeling? We could begin with Scriptures, where many Christians look for guidance, and...
What Newtown Taught Us: Love More, Worry Less
How's that new year's resolution thing working out for you? I've never been a big fan of this once-a-year ritual. I guess it's the whole "turning over a new leaf" syndrome that bugs me most. People resolve to do things...
Doing justice
Thinking of Martin Luther King always reminds me of justice issues, of how far we've come, and how far we have yet to go. When I was a boy, students from all twelve grades rode the school bus together because we all...
Obama’s Inauguration Steeped in Religion
Scholars of presidential rhetoric often compare presidential inaugurations to religious ceremonies, with the occasions serving to reinforce the nation's civil religious expectations. Following tradition, President...
Heroes “ Ordinary People Focused on Something Better
The commemorative holidays that we celebrate this month and next invite us to remember the contributions of national heroes whose lives represent the values we aspire to as a people. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln...
King’s Dream – Still Possible, Still Lives On
"I have a dream," preached the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. from the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial 50 years ago. "It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up...
They remembered
Yesterday (January 18) was my daughter Bethany's 19th "deathday" (following seven birthdays). Nineteen years is a long time, and it doesn't sting so much any more, so I didn't spend the day being maudlin. I spent much...
King’s impact closely tied to the pulpit
Pulpit at historic Ebenezter. Photo by John Pierce.By John Pierce Themes of courage, justice and social change surround the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday. With international acclaim for the civil rights leader...
Let Us Not Forget the Soldiers Who Sacrificed All
In 2004, Ted Koppel, the host of "Nightline," decided to devote the last 20 minutes of his program to reading the names of more than 700 soldiers who had died in Iraq. Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns the local ABC...
When Jesus Had Options, He Chose Extravagance
Jesus had options. We know that was the case from the very start of his ministry. In the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – he exercises his initial options in the wilderness following his baptism, deciding...